HTC Vive Pro is (oddly) the best Windows Mixed Reality headset you can buy

While receiving quite a bit of mockery for the branding, Microsoft’s vision for Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) as a spectrum of experiences is compelling. And for a little while there, it felt like Microsoft was going to lead the charge on demonstrating this spectrum, with WMR headsets on the far side of the VR end and HoloLens on the far side of the AR end. Microsoft has spoken on several occasions about devices existing in the middle, capable of both VR and augmented reality (AR) experiences, but if you’re looking for those experiences today, it isn’t Microsoft you should look to. Instead, the HTC Vive Pro seems to be the first major headset aiming to offer both AR and VR in the same headset. See at Vive at HTC See WMR headsets at Microsoft Defining Windows Mixed Reality Microsoft hasn’t been shy about its goals for Windows Mixed Reality. Microsoft is building for a future where “holographic computing” is the default way to interact with the technology around us. The HoloLens experience, heavy and expensive as it may be, offers a glimpse into a world where you wear the whole computer and can do everything virtually. At the same time, the “fully occluded” VR headsets making up the Windows Mixed Reality brand right now have lowered prices and made default a tracking method that works for any size room. Related: What’s the difference between Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality? What HTC is offering right now is something in between these… [Read full story]